Home Again, Home Again

So I’m back.  New Orleans was awesome and Ohio was, well, less so.

(Also, this is a LONG post…sorry)

Over the course of my trip I got to spend some quality time with my momma and her family and even got to see C several times. 

But best of all…..I got to see C win an Arena Bow Championship!!!  He got his ring!  I am so incredibly proud of him and also so happy to see him realize his dream.

My mom and I got in around 10pm and rushed to get our bags and into the cab to the hotel.  C had a strict deadline to be in his room (which coincidently was right under mine) by 11pm and I wanted a goodnight kiss before we had to go.  We made it with about ten minutes to spare.

After we said goodnight and I freshened up, momma and I headed to Bourbon Street with one of C’s teammates girlfriends and his mom.  Honestly, Bourbon Street is just not my cup of tea.  Or really the whole atmosphere of New Orleans.  I am just not a partier.  We grabbed an adult beverage and walked up and down the street for a few hours.   It was so funny to see my mom out there.  She is even more innocent than me!

Bourbon Street with momma

8 am came pretty quickly, but I didn’t care because I was excited to get to spend a little bit of time with C.  The three of us went to the Ruby Slipper for some breakfast and then it was time to say goodbye to C again.  

But not before he took a picture with a rare sighting of a payphone....

After breakfast my mom and roamed around the city for a little while. We walked down to the waterfront and through the French Quarters.  We were on a hunt for beignets and found the ever famous Café Du Monde, but I wasn’t about to wait in that line!  We finally found another place called Café Beignet and I experienced my first real New Orleans beignets (basically little puff pastry donut type things covered in powdered sugar).  I have to say, the ones at Grand Luxe Café here in AZ are sooooo much better.  I was really disappointed.

New Orlean's beignet's

After beignets and some shopping (I found some awesome “red solo cup wine glasses” for my brother and C) we were headed back to the hotel and bumped into C. He was looking for us to see if we wanted to join him for an unexpected lunch, which was awesome.  Any little bit of time I got with him I would take!

After lunch, we went back to the hotel to rest our feet.  After laying down, we decided to go for some massages.  Can I just say how much I love traveling with my momma?!? I did some research and found a place within walking distance that had some open slots.  It looked a little sketch going in, but I have to say it was a pretty darn good massage and I really learned a lot from the masseuse!  Thank goodness we choose the place we did too…..I guess the other two massage places on the street were of the “happy ending” variety.  Ew.

After the massage, we took naps and then got ready.  I got to get one more quick kiss from C before he left for the arena and then my mom and I headed to dinner.  We wandered next door and found Shula’s steakhouse, which I thought was fitting for our evening plans. 

Shula's menu

After dinner we headed to the arena.  I was so incredibly nervous! I knew this moment was such a big deal for C and I felt so blessed to be able to be there to witness it. 

The game was awesome.  I think the team was ahead by at least two scores the entire time!  It was almost comical.  After the half, it was almost old news when they got a touchdown.  So completely different than the stressful playoff games they played to get to this game.

I really love the intimacy of arena football. It was so great to be able to walk down near the teams bench and get a kiss from C during the half.  That’s definitely not possible in the NFL!

With tears in my eyes I watched C and his team count down the final seconds of the game.  As soon as it was over, C marched right on over to me for a kiss, then took off to celebrate with his teammates.  It was great to be a part of everything!  As they were setting up the trophy ceremony, the guys families and well, girlfriends (and their mothers) all got to hop the railings and go onto the field. It was surreal to experience it all!

Aftermath of the game

After the game we met up on Bourbon Street at an Arena Bowl after party spot to celebrate some more.  C told me he was so happy after the game that he almost proposed….but he didn’t have a ring.  Oh my goodness that would have been cute, but I’m honestly glad he didn’t do that in that city.

After a bit of partying mom and I were off to Ohio.  Our flight left at 5:20am, which means we had to leave for the airport around 3:30am.  That was terrible!  I was miserable on our flights. I was so exhausted!  Once we got there we took an hour nap and had to get up and go again.  Next up was my cousins wedding!

The wedding was small, but fun.  It was nice to see family that I don’t see very often.  The best part though (which I feel bad about) was getting to leave and get the 14 hours of sleep that I got!

The next day we headed out to my Aunts farm in Lancaster, Ohio.  Pretty much the middle of nowhere.  I wish I could say the next three days were awesome….but I can’t.  That’s because I ended up getting strep throat!  Let me just say, traveling with strep throat is horrible.

My "sick" nightstand

Getting sick was worth it though. I got to witness C realize his dream. I got to be with him every step of the way J

At home with the trophy